Pittsfield Sees Potential Candidates for All Positions

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There are potential candidates for all positions on the Nov. 4 ballot.

There are several wards where only the incumbent councilor has taken out papers so far.

It's election season again, and as of Thursday, potential candidates have taken out papers for city clerk, councilor at large, Wards 1-7, and the School Committee. Nomination papers became available on April 3, and certified papers are due by Aug. 1.

A preliminary election will narrow the race down on Sept. 16 if a position has more than two candidates, or nine for at-large councilor.

The six-person School Committee so far has only five potential candidates: incumbents Daniel Elias and Sara Hathaway, and newcomers Geoffrey Buerger, Jacob Klein and Sarah Muil.

Tayshialynn M. Chaloux has taken out papers to challenge incumbent clerk Michele Benjamin.  Alexander Blumin took out papers for clerk and withdrew on April 11, but has not withdrawn from potential candidacy for council seats at-large and for Ward 2. 

Incumbent Kenneth Warren is the only person to take out papers for Ward 1. Craig Benoit, Blumin, Cameron Cunningham, Lindsay Locke, and Corey Walker took out papers for Ward 2. Brittany Bandani was elected in 2023 in Ward 2 over Blumin.

Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires Honors Leaders, Volunteers

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
09:07AM / Sunday, May 24, 2026

Liana Toscanini presented the Founder's Choice Award to Smitty Pignatelli for his years of support as state representative. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires held its ninth annual nonprofit awards last week honoring the contributions of those who have helped the community in their own way.

 

The gathering at the Country Club in Pittsfield on Tuesday included the introduction of new nonprofit Executive Director Samantha Anderson, who steps in for retiring founder and director Liana Toscanini. State Reps. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, John Barrett III and Leigh Davis attended the event.

 

Toscanini, who created NPC in 2016, was honored at the conclusion of the evening to mark her decade leading the organization. 

 

"Founders don't just lead organizations, they are the organization in the deepest sense," said NPC Board President Emily Schiavoni. "Their relationships, their instincts, their fingerprints are on everything, and when someone has poured a decade of herself into building something from the ground up, the act of stepping back is not a simple handoff, it's an act of extraordinary trust and courage that brings me to what Leanna actually built." 

 

NPC became something of a chamber of commerce for nonprofits under Toscanini's guidance, creating a hub of support for leadership and networking for the small and large nonprofits that fuel much of the activity within the Berkshires. 

 

She developed more than two dozen programs, including Get on Board, which helps connect community members with nonprofit boards, and a giving-back guide, volunteer fairs, and a resource directory.

 

Schiavoni described Toscanini as a great mentor who has had a big impact in strengthening local nonprofits.